The mobile battery that charges in a minute!

Clever sorts have developed a battery that could allow a mobile to be charged and ready for use in one measly minute. There's nothing more frustrating than waiting for a phone to get sufficient energy, like a modern day watched pot never boiling.

This new aluminium power cell is also, apparently, much safer than the lithium technology we currently use. It won't catch fire and can be damaged and bent and all manner of stuff.

Better yet, the researchers at Stanford University in California reckon that this battery can be recharged more often than normal batteries without fading away and becoming rubbish. Aluminium batteries can perish after just 100 charges, while the typical lithium battery lasts for 1,000 charges. This new rascal can take 7,500 charges.

Hongjie Dai, professor of chemistry at Stanford, said: "We have developed a rechargeable aluminium battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames."

"Our new battery won't catch fire, even if you drill through it. Lithium batteries can go off in an unpredictable manner - in the air, the car or in your pocket."